Holding them in beer, beef broth, onions and L&P sounds fine.  Plain water does not!  [V]

As a customer, if I saw this, I’d laugh and walk away.

No different than the “Dirty Water Dog” Guys in NYC.

Years ago, at a concession stand for our HS Football games we’d grill burgers for the half time rush and hold them in trays with beer, beef broth, onions and Worcestershire  and they were terrific! A few beers were consumed in solo cups during the cooking process as well to keep the Chefs properly hydrated! 

I don’t know what kind of business you run but I would imagine your customers appreciate the quality they receive from your establishment. Even if a parcooked burger doesn’t taste differently, the perception isn’t good.
I pride myself on the quality I serve and I would imagine that most people here do as well. We are posting and reading about food in our free time.
My kitchen is open and people are 3 feet from my grill and broiler, I know the reaction I would get from my customers if they saw me pull a burger out of the water.
For my business, shortcuts go against the very thing I hate about “fastfood”
Not trying to judge, just my 2cents

Did this when I worked for RJ Gators. Great way to stay ahead during the rush. Did grilled chicken breasts too.

That’s the way DQ use to do it in my area.  I never could tell the difference between the patties that soaked and the ones straight off the grill.    … Flip the soaked pattie back on the char-grill heat, dry, finish cooking, &/or melt cheese and serve.  It cut the waiting time a lot.  … But, I thought DQ used a combo of water & beef broth in the holding pan.

My buddy Matt is the fastest short order cook I ever worked with. Just a beast. He works in a bar across from UT that rings 15k on busy shifts. All burgers and tacos. He devised a system he called ‘buddy burger’. When the first order comes in he slaps an extra patty down, two orders-two extra patties go down and so on and so on. No water bath, just relentlessly putting down patties that have yet to be ordered. Works like a charm and he’s done it since ’91.

I used to work at a hot dog joint that did heavy burger business at lunch.  We were serving 6:1 burgers; bigger than a McDonald’s standard burger, smaller than a Quarter Pounder.  Although they cooked fairly quickly, you’re right, it is still nice to have some waiting in the wings.  Instead of just plain water, we used a beef broth.  IIRC, it was just a bouillon cube dissolved in hot water.
 
The steam tray containing the broth and burgers sat at the far reaches of the grill so it stayed warm but didn’t further cook the burgers.  It worked great!  Only problem was, with an open kitchen, the customers could see the burgers resting in the broth and thought it was grease.  They objected, we stopped the practice.  If you’re working in a closed kitchen it might work fine.
 
BTW, I assume you’re talking about par cooked burgers in the water which are then briefly returned to the grill for a warm up before serving.
 
Buddy

Maybe your busy because they like the fresh burgers off the grill….Just sayin’………………

At a place I worked at in the ’70s…our lunch crowd would slam us and we couldn’t keep up…so we’d cook a dozen or so about half way and slip them into a pan of 130* AuJus….toss it back on the grill to finish it and start a fresh one….never had a complaint from anyone and the burgers/patty melts were GREAT 🙂

One of my favorite quick marts in Lily Kentucky stores their burgers in a water bath. Out of the bath they’re terrible. I asked the lady when they do the cook and she said 9am. I was there the next morning and had one hot off the flattop and it was unbelievable. They grind their own beef in-house, and make the best chili bun in the region.

Shop N Cart serves a blue collar lunch crowd who want their meal cheap and fast and could give a fig if it’s hot off the griddle.

As a customer, if I saw this, I’d laugh and walk away.

What you’re doing at your place and what georgiadogs is talking about are two different operations with different customers and different expectations.  If I was expecting a 1/2 pound pub burger cooked medium rare to order, you’re right, this method is unacceptable.  For a high volume, fast food oriented place, where speed and price are often a greater concern to the customer, this method works just fine.

Buddy

I totally understand this, I personally would wait for a fresh made burger. Honestly, I didn’t know places did this, high volume burger joints seem to be wrapping and bagging as soon as they come off the flat top. Take 5 Guys, Please![;)] drum roll, Henny Youngman![:)]

Years ago we kept them in beef broth. Gives it more flavor than just water.